Market Closes - May 17, 2017

The CBOT was influenced today by a weaker US Dollar and wet weather in the western Corn Belt. Wet soils could trim corn acres and pad soybean acreage. Corn closed at/near the day’s highs. Today’s 6-10 and 8-14 day outlooks call for much-below normal temperatures in the center of the country with the western Corn Belt drier and OH,KY,TN,AR wetter than normal.

Cattle futures closed higher with support stemming from the June Live Cattle contract’s sharp discount to the cash market around $135. Today’s online Fed Cattle Exchange traded nearby cattle at $135.16/cwt, down more than $3.50 from last Wednesday’s market. Choice boxed beef lost 1.71 to 248.17 and Select dropped 2.46 to 221.93.

Lean Hog futures closed narrowly mixed. Support came from stronger pork values, a weaker US$ and good packer margins; pressure came from LH futures premium to the cash hog index. FOB Plant Pork cutout soared 2.18 to 87.26 with all cuts posting strong gains except for bellies which dropped .63.

Turmoil in the U.S. political arena caused traders to sell U.S. equities and the U.S. Dollar, while buying “safe” Treasuries, driving yields down sharply. The VIX, a measure of “fear”, soared 40% from historically low levels.